Door operating mechanism



Nov. 25, 1958 M. E. HARTZLER 2,851,799

DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM Filed Sept. 14, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l JNVENTOR. fifelyzn/fii. Ham ZzZer Nov. 25, 1958 M. E. HARTZLER 2,861,799

. DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM Filed Sept. 14, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. 77Zalwiw E. ffarfizler Wfm, 5m M mm) States Patent DOOR OPERATHNG MECHANISM Melvin E. Hartzler, Downers Grove, IlL, assignor to McKee Door Company, Aurora, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application September 14, 1955, Serial No. 534,203

Claims. (Cl. 268-59) This invention relates to improvements in the operating mechanism for articulated overhead sliding doors commonly employed in garages, service stations, industrial buildings, warehouses, and the like, and more particularly is concerned with an operator arrangement in which the door arm is manually releasable.

The invention provides a brake for the operating mechanism which is automatically applied whenever the power supply for the system is deenergized and the manually releasable arm finds particular application with such an arrangement. In the event of a power failure, the door is automatically held immovable by the action of the brake on the operating mechanism; however, the releasable arm permits the door to be disconnected from the operating mechanism for manual opening and closing as' desired.

The doors may be formed of hinged panels provided with guide rollers and guide tracks; the tracks consisting of vertical and horizontal portions connected through an intermediate curved section.

It is the principal object of the present invention to provide a manually releasable door arm that provides a secure connection during raising and lowering of the door; that is readily releasable at any point of the doors travel; and that is of a reliable and economical construction.

An additional object is to provide an automatically operative brake of novel arrangement that maintains the door fixed against movement whenever the system is deenergized.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view through a garage doorway having a sectional door moving in tapered tracks wherein the door is shown in its down or closed position;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 illustrating the door in its raised or open position;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of the operating mechanism and is taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a vertical view of the automatic brake of the present invention and is taken on the line 44 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a side view of the door arm with parts in section to illustrate the releasable connection of the arm to the operating mechanism.

A typical arrangement for an overhanging door is illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 wherein numerals 9, 10, 11 and 12 designate the various door sections that are hingedly connected together and may receive adjustable roller brackets 13 and a lower corner roller bracket 15 that are adapted to move in a guide track generally designated 16. The guide track consists of i a substantially horizontal upper section 17, an inclined lower section 18 and a curved section 19 joining the two. The adjustable roller brackets properly and accurately space the various door trol arm is adapted to be actuated by a solenoid 52 for.

sections from the tracks to give a tight fit of the door against the stops of the door frame.

Suitable electric motor driving means are shown suspended from the building structure, as at 21, and may be connected to the door operating mechanism, generally indicated at 22, by means of any suitable sprocket arrangement. The operating mechanism consists of a tubular guide member 23 suspended from the building structure by suitable brackets carried at its opposite ends, a

carriage 24 telescoped over the guide member and connected to a continuous link .type chain 35 that is looped through the tubular member and rides on suitable sprockets 25 carried at the opposite ends of the tubular member, and a driving link 26 pivotally connected between the carriage 24 and the upper door section 12.

The arrangement is such that the carriage, under the control of the chain and the electric drive motor 21, is reciprocated along the tubular guide member 23 to raise the door from its closed position as shown in Fig. 1 to its open position as shown in Fig. 2 and vice versa.

Suitable counterbalancing facilities for compensating for the weight of the door are customarily provided, and

while none are illustrated in the accompanying drawings,

it is contemplated that any conventional type may be employed. g

The operating mechanism includes self applying braking instrumentalities associated with the electric motor driving means. The braking effort is maintained so long as the driving means is deenergized and is relieved only when electric power is supplied to the driving means. This arrangement is advantageous since the: door is safely maintained in any selected position to which it is directed. Thus, during all relevant moments the door is either under the control of the electric motor driving means or under'the positive restraining action of the brake.

Since a power failure would immobilize the operator and hence the door, it is proposed to provide a manually releasable door arm to permit the door to be disconnected from the operator. The door may then be positioned manually in accordance with the needs of the situation.

The driving means is illustrated in Fig. 3 and includes an electric motor 30 for rotating a pulley 31 suitably connected to a large driving pulley 32 by a belt 33. The pulley 32 drives a shaft 34 which in turn is connected to another shaft 36 by a suitable gearing arrangement. The

gears for this purpose are mounted in a gear box 37. The shaft 36 drives still another shaft 38, and. for this purpose, both shafts are provided with suitable sprockets 39' and 40, respectively, that are connected by a bicycle-type.

chain 41. At its other end the shaft 38 carries the sprocket 25 which drives the continuous link-type chain 35 that actuates the carriage 24 in its back and forthmentary View of Fig. 4. A brake drum 43 is secured to the shaft 34 for engagement with a pair of complementary brake arms 44 and 45 that are individually pivoted on a suitable support shaft 46. Each of the arms includes an upper semicircular bearing portion and a substantially straight lower portion. As shown the arms are arranged about the brake drum 43 with their substantially straight lower portions in spaced apart parallel relationship, and the arms are urged into. braking engagement with the drum by a suitable tension spring 47 secured between their lower extremities. Thus the brake arrangement is selfapplying.

For releasing the brake a suitably supported rotatable shaft 48 is provided with a camming bar 49 having wheels 50 at its opposite ends. The shaft 48 is provided with a control arm 51 spaced axially therealo-ng and this conrotating the shaft 48' and causing the wheels 50 to spread the arms 44 and 45 and release the brake. The arrangement of the brake arms and camming bar is particularly advantageous as it requires only five to ten degrees of rotation of the shaft 48 to effectuate the release. In addition, the wheeled engagement between the camming bar and the brake arms introduces but a minimum of friction into the system.

' Normally the brake drum is locked by the action of the brake arms 44 and 45 under the influence of the spring 47, but as indicated schematically in Fig. 4, when power is applied to the motor 30 for the purpose of operating the door, the solenoid 52 will simultaneously become en' ergized to release the brake and permit the desired door operation; however, when the motor is deenergized, solenoid 52 is also deenergized and the brake is engaged.

7 The door arm 26 is illustrated in Fig. and has its opposite ends pivotally connected between a hook 54 attached to. the carriage 24 and a bracket 55 secured to the top door section 12. The connection of the arm with the hook is made readily releasable but nevertheless safely and "reliably accommodates all necessary pivotal movement.

According to the invention the arm 26 is made in three sections: a lower section consisting of a hollow cylindrical tube 57 formed with suitable expansion slots 55 at one end; a center section 59 consisting of a hollow cylindrical tube adapted to be telescoped within the slotted end of the lower tube 57; and a top section 60 consisting of a split sleeve adapted to encase a portion of the center tube 59. and having a pair of spaced apart parallel arms 61, only one of Which is shown, provided with a pin 62 for engagement within the hook 54. It will be noted that the pin 62.which bridges thespace between the arms 61 extends transversely of the direction of travel of the carriage 24. The tubes 57 and 59 are preferably bolted together as shown at 63 and for this purpose may be provided with a plurality of suitably spaced sets of bolt holes to permit any necessary adjustments in the length of the door arm. The rigidity of the connection between these tubes is insured by providing a suitable band-type clamp as shown at 64. The split sleeve 6t? is telescope/d over the tube 59 and the two parts are secured together by a suitable pin 66 driven through their overlapping portions. In addition the split sleeve 60 is clamped in place on the tube 59 by a bolt67 which extends between opposed flange portions 68 depending from the sleeve adjacent its longitudinal split.

The/parallel arms 61 are also spanned by a pin 69 which pivotally supports a latch 70 at an intermediate point therealong. The forward end of the latch is provided with an arcuate surface 71 adapted to engage a surface portion of the hook 54 in opposition to the hook surface engaged by the pin 62. At its rearward end the latch is provided with a shoulder 72 adapted for cooperation with a correspondingly shouldered portion 73 of a locking bar 74. The locking bar 74 is disposed within the tube 59 and is secured thereto for limited relative movement by the pin 66. For this purpose it is formed with. an elongated slot 75. The locking bar is yieldingly urged toward its locking position wherein it is in shouldered engagement with the latch 70 by a helical spring 76 telescoped over the bar and biased between the pin 66 and the shoulder portion 73. At its rearward end the bar is attached to'a pull chain 77 that extends through the. tube portions 59 and 57 and hangs out the lower end of the, arm. This arrangement provides a reliable driving connection between the carriage and the door arm that transmits both compression and tension forces without danger of becoming disconnected.

When it is desired to release the connection between the hook 54 and the door arm 26, this may be accomplished by pulling the chain 77 to retract the locking bar 74 and release the latch 70. The release of the latch 4 70 permits the pin 62 to be disengaged from the hook 54.

In reconnecting the door arm to the hook 54 it is merely necessary to again retract the locking bar 74 by pulling on the chain 77. The pin 62 and latch 70 may then be appropriately positioned in engagement with the hook 54, and by releasing the chain, the locking bar is permitted to advance under the influence of the spring 76 to secure the carriage and door arm in fixed pivotal relationship. It should be apparent that the strains developed in the operation of the door may be rather severe; however, they cause the latch 70 to apply only lateral forces on the locking bar and do not result in axial movement of the locking bar such as would effect a disconnection.

It should be understood that the description of the preferred form of the invention is for the purpose of complying with Section 112, Title 35, of the U. S. Code.

I claim:

1. In an operating mechanism for an overhead garage door, a releasable connection comprising first and second conjointly movable members, said first member having a hook at one extremity, said second member having a pin at one extremity with said pin extending transversely to the direction of movement of said members and adapted for engagement with said hook, a latch movably secured intermediately along said second member and having a surface engaging said hook oppositely of said pin, and releasable locking means movably secured to said second member and urged into engagement with said latch for maintaining said latch in engagement with said hook.

2. In an operating mechanism for an overhead garage door, a releasable connection comprising first and second conjointly movable members, said first member having a hook, said second member having a pin extending transversely to the direction of movement of said members and adapted for engagement with said hook, a latch movably secured to said second member and having a surface engaging said hook oppositely of said pin, and manually releasable locking means movably secured to said second member and yieldably urged into engagement with said latch for maintaining said latch in engagement with said hook.

3. In an operating mechanism for an overhead garage door, a releasable connection comprising first and second conjointly movable members, said first member having a hook, said second member having a pin extending transversely to the direction of movement of said members and adapted for engagement with said hook, a latch pivotally secured to said second member and having a. surface engaging said hook oppositely of said pin, releasable locking means movably secured to said second member and yieldably urged into shouldered engagement with said latch for maintaining said latch in engagement with said hook, and tension means secured to said locking means for moving the same out of engagement with said latch.

4. In an operating mechanism for an overhead garage door, a releasable connection comprising first and second conjointly movable members, said first member having a hook, said second member being tubular and carrying endwise extending arms spaced apart transversely to the direction of movement of said members, a pin extending between said arms. adjacent the extremities thereof and adapted for engagement with said hook, a latch having an intermediate portion pivotally secured between said arms and having a forward surface engaging said hook oppositely of said pin, a locking bar telescoped within said second member and secured thereto for limited relative movement, said locking bar being yieldably urged into shouldered engagement with a rearward portion of said latch for maintaining said latch in engagement with said hook, and tension means secured to said locking bar for retracting said bar and releasing the connection.

5. In an operating mechanism for an overhead garage door, said mechanism including a horizontal guide mem-v ber, a carriage movable along said guide member and linkage means for connecting said carriage to a sliding articulated door; a releasable connection comprising a hook carried by said carriage and opening forwardly, a tubular member carrying endwise extending arms spaced apart transversely to the direction of movement of said members, a pin extending between said arms adjacent the forward extremities thereof and adapted for engagement with said hook, a latch having an intermediate portion pivotally secured between said arms and having a forward surface engaging a rearward surface of said hook, a locking bar telescoped within said tubular member and secured thereto for limited relative movement, said locking bar being yieldably urged into shouldered engagement with a rearward portion of said latch for maintaining said latch in engagement with said hook, and tension means secured to said locking bar for retracting said han 5 and releasing the connection.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 10 2,021,957 Gregg Nov. 26, 1935 2,070,058 McCloud Feb. 9, 1937 2,567,029 Sauter Sept. 4, 1951 

